"minor snow" solar term (approx. November 22)
One of the 24 solar terms (二十四節気), marking the period when light snow begins to fall in northern regions. Used in traditional calendars and seasonal references.
See also: 二十四節気
Around the time of Shōsetsu, news of the first snowfall begins to arrive from the northern regions.
小雪 is the solar term just before 大雪, marking the period of lighter snow, while 大雪 marks the period when snow begins falling heavily.
From Chinese 小雪 (xiǎoxuě), literally 'small snow', adopted into the Japanese traditional calendar system.